destined (max verstappen)

twenty one

10th August:

Less than a month until my wedding, which is still allegedly going ahead much to my dismay. But the bigger concern was the race, Sebastian Vettel and max Verstappen are racing in five days.

Max's mouth bloody and eyebrow busted open, bleeding down the right side of his face, which happened to be swollen. He didn't continue his training after that, he just got cleaned up and went to her apartment where Olivia was cooking dinner for the two of them.

He limped through the door with his arm in a sling and an ice pack still pressed to his shoulder, he'd been racing with one of his old karting friends just how Vettel and he intend to. 50 laps, same car, no rules.

"Hey, love!" Max yelled hoarsely from the door, putting his keys on the table. He heard her humming to music that played faintly through the kitchen as the gas stove clicked.
He walked around through the living room and into the dining room, watching her gracefully move to the smooth music playing out of her phone as she seasoned whatever was in the pan she was stirring. He walked up behind her and pulled his right arm against her diaphragm, resting a head on her shoulder. He kissed her neck softly as she giggled, vibrating Max's lips as he pressed tender kisses to her throat.

"Hello to you too." She smiled and spun around, taken aback by the current state of his figure, hunched over in pain, dried blood on his forehead. "What the hell happened to you?"

Since July 31st the drivers have another little break up until the twenty eighth of august, so max and Olivia had spent every waking moment together. Adam had stopped pestering Liv because he assumed she ditched max due to the fact there was no longer any paparazzi photos of them anywhere and she was posting Adam on socials again.

"Just some racing." Max shrugged.

"Max, that's not supposed to happen in racing, aren't you supposed to be wearing a padded helmet when you race?"

"Yeah, but Chris and I agreed no helmet helped with my view of the other car." He explained shrugging a little as he spoke.

"Whatever. Go get cleaned up. Dinner's ready." Olivia said as the clicking stopped, Max's shoulders relaxed as the noise halted and he trudged out of the kitchen.

When he came back in his sweatpants and t-shirt, arm still in a sling, with his face washed, Liv was already sat at the table, waiting for him. She sipped on her wine as Max sat down across from her.

"Looks wonderful, darling." Max smiled, looking up at her. "And the food looks good too." She just rolled her eyes at him.

They barely talked for the rest of dinner. Max tried to keep the conversation off of the race coming up in the next few days, because he knew it made her angry.

After dinner, max helped her wash the dishes without a word, they had already used up the small talk and there was nothing else to say.
Olivia wiped her hands off on a dish towel when she finished and looked at Max.

"Who did you race with today?" Max met her eyes for a second and then looked to his bare feet on the white marble, his pale skin growing paler as he continued to stare.

"Derek." Max said softly.

"Max! You've gotta be kidding me! Seriously?
Do you not see the problem with this? Derek hasn't professionally raced in two years, fuck he never even got into F1, and if he can do that to you---when he's not trying to kill you if I might add---imagine what Vettel can do to you? You're not ready to race him, Max, can't you see that?"

"I don't have a choice, Olivia!" Max yelled stomping off to her living room.

"You do have a choice, Max! We all have a choice! Look at you, you're already hurt."

"You don't understand, Olivia , I can't just back out! Do you know what that'll do to my fucking reputation?" Max yelled again, Olivia looked at him with tears in her eyes and walked to the door. His eyes followed her into the hallway as she picked up her purse from the floor.

"It's either me or this race, I can't stand here and watch you get destroyed like that." He stayed silent, standing in the entranceway of the living room. "Okay. Goodbye, Max." She knew if she left her apartment he would feel bad she was out and leave shortly after.

"No please don't leave me." He begged and she turned to look at him, tears in his eyes. "I love you."

I shook my head, "You don't know what love is Max, the only thing you've ever 'loved' is racing, and that's not even for you."

"T-That's not true, the only thing I've ever loved is you. You make me feel like-I don't know-like I want to be better, like I'm my best self when I'm with you."

I held my head, signing "How is that possible when you almost killed my fiancé, who-thanks to me-didn't press charges. How is that your best self?"

"Because of what I'm doing it for." He mumbled, playing with the item in his pocket.
"All of that was for you, everything I do is for you, I am in love with you, the way your eyes sparkle in the moonlight and the way your skin looks so soft in the morning and the way you smile with everything in you. You make me feel at home, Olivia, because whenever I'm with you I am home."

She then yelled, "Just stop! I can't stay if you're going to keep walking into that race at the end of the week. I can't watch you almost get killed out there. So, it's me or the race, it's up to you."

Formula one was daunting enough, liv had seen her brother get injured so many times growing up and she knew how dangerous one on ones were. Especially with people as ruthless and talented as Sebastian Vettel, people have died doing this. Many many people. And she wouldn't sit around and watch him die too.

Max still couldn't say anything, racing was his life but he loved her, how was it possible for him to choose.

"Okay." She nodded, a tear prickling in her eye. "Just one last thing, Max," she said softly as she opened the door, he looked into her eyes for the last time that night. "it's okay to submit. Your mum and dad will always be proud of you no matter if you win or not."

Then she walked out the door, leaving Max a heaving mess in her apartment. He tried to scream but no sound came out and he paced around the room, running his hand through his hair. He sat down on the couch and clutched the item from his pocket in his fist tightly before opening it to take a sorrowful look at the diamond ring delicately sat in his palm.

The next three days, Max didn't leave his apartment , he spent most of his time wallowing in self-pity and the scent of her body becoming fainter as the days progressed. Lando and Daniel came by his house two days before the fight to check on him, Chris had said that he wasn't showing up for training.

The door was open when Daniel arrived, so he took it upon himself to walk in, the house was silent.

"Max! Where are ya, man?" Daniel yelled as he walked up the stairs. "Max?" He yelled again as he walked into the his bedroom to see the man sitting on the floor with his back against the bed. Max couldn't bare the thought of her a floor down.

"She's gone." Was all Max could say as he clutched a t-shirt that she left, she had picked up her things the day after she left while Max was sobbing in the shower. Daniel knew exactly what happened, Liv had been staying in his guest bedroom for the last three days until she got back on her feet.

Lando was never good with his feelings or making people feel better, but he tried for Max. He rubbed his back lightly and told him that everything would be okay. It didn't help Max very much, but he was able to leave his house the day of the race.